Art to the Students

Imagine Winslow Homer as your roommate for the spring semester or Cezanne living next door. WCMA is hard at work putting together a special collection of two-dimensional art for students to display in their dorms. This program set to launch in January 2014 will give students the opportunity to develop deep, memorable, and personal experiences with original works of art.

The Student Art Loan Selection Committee has completed the first phase of the initiative, selecting from donations and proposing works for purchase with funds from the Fulkerson Fund for Leadership in the Arts. “We were thrilled to get donations for this program from old as well as new friends.” says Katherine Myers, WCMA’s Director, Donor Engagement, “Long time supporter Michael Engl ’66 gave us the fantastic photo by Edward Curtis (1868-1952) an ethnologist and photographer of the American West and of Native American peoples, while Susy and Jack Wadsworth ‘61, passionate collectors of Asian art, gave us The Promenade by Japanese artist Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815) from the Edo period. In the process of gathering donations we were delighted to make a new acquaintance in Ed Martin ’58 who donated work by Ben Shahn. When these objects are installed on dorm walls they will cement a wonderful connection between generations of Ephs.”

These three objects reflect the goal to assemble a collection that reflects diversity of gender, ethnicity, and nationality. The collection will span time and geography. “What excites me most about adding these three works of art to this special collection is that I imagine each of them to be a really intriguing semester-long roommate!” Says Sonnet Coggins, Associate Director of Academic and Public Engagement, “I think each of these artworks will reveal itself slowly over time, and will inspire wonder, inquiry, and even some head scratching for months on end.”